Center for Sustainable Systems Studies

Miami University Sustainability Project

Renew America announced today that the Miami University Sustainability Project will be included in Renew America's Environmental Success Index, a one-of-a-kind database filled with successful environmental programs. Each year, the national environmental nonprofit Renew America identifies programs throughout the nation that provide innovative solutions to today's tough environmental challenges.

Debbie Sliter, Renew America's Executive Director notes, "The Environmental Success Index provides the environmental movement with what it most desperately needs: a forum for sharing information. By recognizing these innovative programs, we motivate the individuals involved to continue their efforts and provide others with successful models and the information necessary to initiate similar programs in their own communities."

The Index, which is available both in print and on the World Wide Web, includes programs under twenty-six different categories such as Transportation Efficiency, Solid Waste Management, Pollution Prevention and Open Space Protection.
To qualify for inclusion in the Index, programs are evaluated on the basis of four criteria: program effectiveness, natural resource conservation, economic progress and human development. Each qualifying program has passed through turee stages of review: reference checks and evaluations from independent local organizations, verification of program results by participating nonprofit organizations at the state level and review by the National Awards Council for Environmental Sustainability.

Coordinated by Renew America, the National Awards Council for Environmental Sustainability identifies and recognizes these award winners and their achievements annually. The coalition of sixty national environmental, nonprofit, government and business organizations includes National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Environmental Law Institute, EarthKind, AT&T, National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Institution.

In addition to compiling the Environmental Success Index annually, Renew America coordinates the Day of Environmental Solutions which will be on Wednesday, February 19 this year. In the afternoon, a live national teleconference, Environmentally Sustainable Energy Choices: A National Town Meeting, will link audiences in cities across the country with a panel of experts in Washington, DC. The evening will continue with the National Awards for Environmental Sustainability, honoring twenty-four of the 1,600 programs at a gala dinner hosted by AT&T.

As America's leading source for environmental solutions, Renew America identifies, verifies and promotes exemplary environmental programs. By offering positive, constructive models, Renew America inspires communities, government agencies and businesses to meet today's environmental challenges. For more information about Renew America, please call (202) 232-2252 or to see the Environmental Success Index online, visit the World Wide Web page via the Internet: http://www.crest.org/renew_america.

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